So what do Freddy Fender, Santana, Sergio Mendes and Los Panchos have in common? Their works have been selected for the 2012 Grammy Hall of Fame.

The Recording Academy announced that Fender’s “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights (1975), Santana’s album “Santana” (1969), Los Panchos’ “Mexicantos” (1945) and Mendes’ “Herp Albert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66,” (1966) are among the works for
demonstrating “musical excellence.”

Selected works must be at least 25 years old and exhibit qualitative or historical significance, according to the Recording Academy.

“We are especially honored to welcome this year’s selection of some of the most influential recordings of the last century,” said The Recording Academy’s president Neil Portnow. “Marked by both cultural and historical significance, these works truly have influenced and inspired audiences for generations, and we are thrilled to induct them into our growing catalog of outstanding recordings.”

During Grammy Week in February, the works will be formally included in the academy’s collection, which dates back approximately 40 years.

The new additions bring the number of works recognized by the Recording Academy to 906.

Fender, who passed away in 2006, was born Baldemar Huerta, the son of a Mexican immigrant father and a Texas-born mother. Some of his best-known songs were “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” and “Secret Love.”

Mendes is a Brazilian-born jazz musician.

Los Panchos was a trio that often performed ballads.

Santana, a group named after its leader, Carlos Santana, formed in 1966.